WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team honors its four graduating seniors during Saturday's Senior Day, as the Cardinals close out the regular season with a 1 p.m. MIAC game against Augsburg at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (17-4 MIAC | 20-4 Overall)
vs. Augsburg Auggies (7-14 MIAC | 9-15 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program | Senior Salute

Last Action:
The Cardinals boasted four players in double figures, as SMU used an 8-0 rally as part of a 15-2 second-half run to race past Saint Benedict 70-62 in an MIAC game at the SMU Gym Wednesday. … Augsburg, meanwhile, got a career-high 12 points from Jenna Orth, as the Auggies held off Macalester 49-45 Wednesday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Augsburg — Earlier This Year:
January 19, 2013: It's been said that defense wins championships, and SMU has certainly taken that adage to heart. The Cardinals allowed Augsburg an additional five minutes and still held the Auggies six points under their season average, as SMU picked up its fourth straight win with a 59-53 overtime victory at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn.
setback at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
January 14, 2012: After scoring just 18 points in the game's opening 20 minutes, the Cardinals erupted for 39 points after the break en route to a 57-49 conference win over the Auggies at Si Melby Hall. Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) led the way for SMU, scoring a team-high 14 points.
February 11, 2012: Thanks in large part to a stellar first half, in which SMU outscored Augsburg 34-9, the Cardinals rolled past the Auggies 61-52 at the SMU Gym. More importantly than their 12th conference win of the season, however, was what that win stood for — SMU's first berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament since the 2004-2005 season.

Up Next:
Saturday's game is the regular-season finale for both the Cardinals and Auggies. SMU will begin MIAC Tournament play next week, with the complete tournament schedule sorting itself out following Saturday's games.

MIAC Playoff Chase:
The six spots for the 2013 MIAC Women's Basketball Tournament have been secured and two of the seeds were locked into place on Wednesday, so Saturday's outcome will just finalize some of the final seeding questions. Concordia (18-3 MIAC) — thanks to its win Wednesday — locked up a share of the regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed. Though the Cobbers could still share the crown with St. Thomas (17-4 MIAC) and/or Saint Mary's (17-4 MIAC), Concordia holds all three- and two-team tiebreaker advantages for the top seed. … The Tommies and Cardinals will be either No. 2 or No. 3 seed. If both win and Concordia loses Saturday to create a three-team tie atop the standings, Concordia would be No. 1, St. Thomas would be No. 2 and Saint Mary's would be No. 3. St. Thomas also holds the head-to-head over SMU, so the Tommies have the inside track on the No. 2 seed. The Cardinals would need a win and a St. Thomas loss, or could also earn the No. 2 seed if both SMU and UST lost Saturday, and CSB won to create a three-team tie for second. … Saint Benedict (16-5) is locked in at No. 4. It would lose either tiebreaker with St. Thomas or Saint Mary's, or would finish at the bottom of said three-team tiebreaker with SMU and UST. Gustavus (14-7) is a game up on Hamline (13-8) for the No. 5 seed, but has its work cut out Saturday with a game against first-place Concordia. Should the two tie at 14-8, Hamline would hold the tiebreaker and earn the No. 5 seed. Gustavus is No. 5 with a win, or a Hamline loss.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game against Augsburg is the final regular-season home game for SMU seniors Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), Courtney Athnos (La Crosse, Wis.), Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.). … With their win over Saint Benedict on Wednesday, the Cardinals head into Saturday's regular-season finale having won three straight and 12 of their last 13. … Wednesday's victory over CSB — their fourth straight against the Blazers — was the Cardinals' 20th win of the season — the most in coach Mandy Pearson's six years and the most since SMU went 24-3 and finished third in the NCAA regional in 1985-86. … The Cardinals boasted four players in double figures for the fifth time this season against Saint Benedict Wednesday, led by Thone with a game-high 20 points. Stefely added 13, while Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) each added 12. … The 12 points were a career-high for Auseth. … Thone has now scored in double figures in 34 of the team's last 40 games. … With Wednesday's 20 points, Thone now owns 1,120 career points, ranking No. 8 all-time. … Thone's 20-point effort marked the seventh time this season the Cardinals have boasted a scorer with 20 or more points in a game. Stefely has eclipsed the 20-point mark four times this season, while Thone has done it three times. … Thone has scored 20 or more points nine times in her four-year collegiate career, while Stefely has eclipsed 20 points seven times. … Stefely owns the team's top single-game scoring performance, netting a game- and season-high 23 points in SMU's win over nationally ranked St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … Stefely recorded her fourth double-double of the season — and 15th of her career — with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against St. Catherine on Jan. 26. … Stefely enters Saturday's regular-season finale against Augsburg averaging a team-best 13.0 ppg, while Thone is second at 12.4 ppg. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, dished out a season-high eight assists vs. St. Thomas on Jan. 23, and owns a team-best 86 helpers this season. … Thone has also knocked down 33 of the team's 101 3-pointers, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn. / 22), Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis. / 18) and Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn. / 15) have also netted 10 or more treys. … As a team, the Cardinals drained eight 3-pointers against Saint Benedict on Wednesday, one shy of the season-high nine 3-pointers SMU netted against St. Olaf on Jan. 16. … The Cardinals dished out 28 assists vs. Bethel on Jan. 12, the most since the Cardinals tallied 28 assists vs. Cal Lutheran on Nov. 26, 2004. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game vs. Augsburg averaging 60.7 ppg. … SMU heads into Saturday's showdown vs. Augsburg 9-1 at home, the lone loss coming at the hands of league-leading Concordia on Feb. 3. … On the flip side, SMU's 65-56 win over Bethel on Feb. 9 was the final regular-season road game for the Cardinals, who improved to 10-3 away from home this season. … SMU's 85 points against Bethel in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 12 were a season high, and the most by a Cardinal team since scoring 97 against Augsburg on Dec. 4, 2004. … SMU's 62-59 win over Augsburg in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 19 was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. The win also snapped a streak of four straight OT losses, dating back to a 73-69 double-overtime win over Bethel on Jan. 24, 2009. … SMU's season-high nine-game winning streak was snapped with a 64-54 loss to league-leading Concordia on Feb. 3 — it was the Cardinals' longest win streak since SMU opened the 1985-86 season with a 19-game winning streak. … Speaking of snapping streaks, in the span of back-to-back Wednesdays, the Cardinals put an end to a pair of lengthy losing streaks — SMU snapped an 11-game slide against St. Thomas with a 62-56 win over the then-nationally ranked Tommies on Jan. 23, then ended a 13-game losing streak against Gustavus with Wednesday's 65-58 victory. … SMU's 15-point second-half comeback in its 55-53 win over Macalester on Feb. 6 was the largest deficit overcome by the Cardinals this season. SMU had rallied from a 13-point deficit in their 62-56 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … The Cardinals have held five opponents to less than 15 first-half points this season. SMU held Alma (Nov. 16), Macalester (Jan. 9), Augsburg (Jan. 19) and Carleton (Feb. 2) each to 14 first-half points, while allowing just nine points in the first half in its first meeting with St. Catherine on Dec. 1.

Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With their four-point, 49-45 win over Macalester Wednesday, the Auggies have now won two of their last three games. … Wednesday's win over the Scots was Augsburg's ninth of the season — the Auggies enter Saturday's contest at Saint Mary's looking to record 10 or more wins for the second straight season, a feat they have not accomplished since the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons. … Augsburg boasted three players in double figures vs. Macalester Wednesday, led by Jill Tichy with 14 points. Jenna Orth and Anne Skriba each chipped in 12 points for the Auggies. … Orth's 12 points were a career-high, as the freshman went 5-for-8 from the floor and added a pair of free throws. … Skriba and Tichy enter Saturday's season finale against Saint Mary's averaging in double figures — Skriba averaging team-best 10.6 ppg, while Tichy is scoring at a 10.0 ppg clip. … Three Auggies have eclipsed the 20-point barrier this season — Jolene Blood netted a season-best 22 points against Gustavus on Nov. 28, while Abbey Luger and Tichy have each chipped in 21-point efforts. … Luger has hauled in a team-leading 115 rebounds (4.8 rpg), while Jolene Blood is the team-leader in assists (64) and Luger boasts a team-best 51 steals. … The Auggies have drained 119 3-pointers, led by Blood with 33 and Tichy with 30. … Augsburg has scored 70 or more points twice this season, draining 77 in a season-opening 77-50 victory over St. Scholastica on Nov. 20, while tossing in a season-best 83 points in an 83-56 triumph over St. Catherine on Jan. 30. … Augsburg heads into Saturday's game at Saint Mary's owning a 5-6 record away from Si Melby Hall. Augsburg finished the year 4-9 at home this season.